T-TALK: Groups warn Ill. against funding religious groups

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Illinois should move carefully when awarding $40 million or more in state funds to religious organizations, two national activist groups warned.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Anti-Defamation League told state officials that they've identified at least 97 religious organizations that would get the money from the capital construction bill signed into law last month.They pointed out in a letter to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that the constitutional separation of church and state forbids using tax dollars for religious purposes and that the grants carry no restrictions.Department spokeswoman Marcelyn Love said the organizations scheduled for grants must develop agreements with the agency on how they will spend the money. That process reveals specifics about the projects and allows the agency to evaluate each one.'The department has internal processes and controls in place to ensure accountability and proper use of public funds for all of its grant programs,' Love said.

Negotiations start for man accused of killing eagle

CHEYENNE, Wyo. | The lawyer for a Northern Arapaho man who killed a bald eagle for use in his tribe's Sun Dance four years ago says he's working with federal prosecutors to resolve the case ahead of a scheduled October trial date.

Winslow Friday has acknowledged that he shot and killed a bald eagle without a permit on the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming in March 2005.But the question of whether Friday should be prosecuted for killing the iconic bird has spawned a legal dispute that has ranged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined early this year to review his case.Friday, now in his mid-20s, could possibly face up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine if convicted. He's scheduled to go to trial Oct. 5 before U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson in Cheyenne.Jim Barrett, an assistant federal public defender in Cheyenne, represents Friday and said he's negotiating with federal prosecutors to reach a disposition on the case, possibly including transferring it to another court.Kelly Rankin, U.S. Attorney for Wyoming, declined comment.

HUD: No religious services in subsidized housing

GREENSBORO, N.C. | The mostly elderly and disabled residents of a North Carolina subsidized housing community are questioning a federal policy that won't allow them to use common spaces for religious activities.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported Friday that the authority that operates the subsidized Elm Tower community near Greensboro has appealed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The housing authority notified residents a few weeks ago that gathering for religious activities in common areas of the buildings would no longer be allowed.A spokeswoman for the housing authority said the practice violates a federal policy that forbids organizations receiving HUD funds from engaging in religious activities.

Newest Mormon temple dedicated in South Jordan

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Thomas S. Monson celebrated his 82nd birthday as he presided over the dedication of the church's newest temple.

Monson and other church leaders attended the ceremony at the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple in South Jordan.It is the Mormon church's 13th Utah temple and its 130th operating temple worldwide. It will serve about 83,000 members.

Following the dedication the temple will be open only to worthy church members.